Christmas ferns are common and rugged, found in woodlands and shady, rocky slopes, in both moist
and dry settings. They are so named because they remain green through the winter.
They are native to eastern North America.

Identification: Like many ferns, fronds arise from a central root
system, expanding outward in a funnel shape. Each stem (rachis) is very scaly, dark brown
at the base, fading to green further up. Fronds are dark green and shiny. These ferns are mostly
evergreen, looking flattened and bedraggled but otherwise intact in the winter. Fronds are 12-31" (30-80 cm)
× 1¾-4½" (5-12 cm), lanceolate, usually tapering rapidly above the middle.
Only the upper
portion of fertile fronds bear spores—this portion is significantly smaller.
Each frond contains
20-40 pinnae (leaflets). The pinnae, each
about 1½" (4 cm) long, are also lanceolate, but with a distinctive bump
on one side of the base, and fine teeth or spines along the leaf edges. The fiddleheads, called crosiers, are silvery and scaled.